The old Chevys were charming, Hemingway鈥檚 house was 鈥渃ool鈥欌�� and the Museum of the Revolution was moving, but it was the pickup baseball game with a bunch of 10-year-olds that 911爆料 senior Tyler Figgis remembers most about his trip to Cuba over winter break. They played under palm trees in a small village. A stick sufficed as a bat; scars marked the baseballs. Still, Figgis and his 911爆料 classmates had the experience of a lifetime. 鈥淲e got clobbered,鈥欌�� says Figgis, of Stratford, Conn. 鈥淏ut the fact that we were in Cuba playing the national sport was incredible.鈥欌��
It鈥檚 impressive enough that Figgis and 19 other 911爆料 students visited the Communist country as part of 911爆料鈥檚 鈥�鈥� (or January) offerings, but even more amazing that they went just weeks after the United States restored diplomatic ties with the nation, ending an embargo imposed after Fidel Castro came to power in 1959. 鈥淲e had planned the trip months ago, but our timing to go was perfect,鈥欌�� says Political Science Professor Maureen Moakley, who joined the students. 鈥淚t was a great trip. The students were over the moon.鈥欌�� The journey was such a success Professor Moakley and Economics Professor Richard McIntyre, who also went, plan to return next year with another group of students. But future travelers take note: spots will probably fill up fast.
Carrying cameras and journals, the students spent 10 days touring the island, visiting museums and universities; living with families in the countryside; talking with writers and artists; and even rapping with a hip hop singer. They gobbled down rice and black beans, sweet-tasting tomatoes and fresh salads with veggies plucked from thriving organic farms. Back home, they were eager to share their experiences.
鈥淭he Revolution is very much alive in Cuba,鈥欌�� says Figgis. 鈥淭hey don鈥檛 have any commercial advertising 鈥� no ads for Coca-Cola, just billboards of Castro. Not a lot of capitalism going on down there.鈥欌��
That鈥檚 expected to change 鈥� quickly. U.S. Congressional leaders are already making trips to the island to drum up business, which should translate into money and jobs for the Cuban people, says senior Jason Rosenblum, of Howell, N.J. 鈥淲hen I told people I鈥檓 from the United States their whole demeanor changed,鈥欌�� he says. 鈥淭hey got really happy, especially the younger generation. They have even less reason to leave now.鈥欌��
Two things stood out for him: Cubans are highly educated, thanks to an excellent public education system; and they鈥檙e aware of what鈥檚 going on beyond their border. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e not as isolated as people think,鈥欌�� he says. 鈥淭hey knew about politics and music all over the world.鈥欌�� He says Cubans also admire Americans, which he found surprising considering the decades-old rift. 鈥淭hey love Obama,鈥欌�� says Rosenblum. 鈥淭hey can’t wait to be able to trade with the United States and travel back and forth.鈥欌��
For Gianelle Alba, a senior from Providence, the Cuba she saw was not the one she鈥檚 read about in American history books. 鈥淚 was taught that Cuba was a controlling, violent country. It wasn鈥檛. Cubans are the happiest people I鈥檝e ever met.鈥欌�� The trip, she says, was 鈥渕ind blowing.鈥欌�� That鈥檚 another way of saying it changed her life.